To Play Or Not To Play

Since Friday night's game has been moved to Monday, the question is being asked why do we play high schools sports?

Obviously ,the first answer is for the enrichment of those who participate.

In order for those who play to partake, someone has to pay the bills.

Right now, we are in the middle of an election campaign in which both candidates are promising to give us more. They both claim that they can cut taxes to do it.

Any person in their right mind knows in order to be given anything, someone pays for it. Money just doesn't grow on the government tree as some people think.

There lies the decision to move the biggest game of the weekend in the area and possibly in the state to Monday night.

Sporting budgets come from booster clubs and ticket sales. There is no line item in the school budgets that say athletic $$$$$$$$.

A barbecue dinner can raise $4,000, but a big gate can raise $15,000. When given a choice, which will the decision makers go for?

The expenses at a game.. Once the lights go one, someone pays. How much is that, $100 an hour? Only the meter reader knows for sure.

Those referees show up every Friday night from Fayetteville, Greenville or Goldsboro. Do you think they like Rocky Mount so much that they just got in their car to do us a favor?

We all hate to do it, but we go through security every game just to be safe. Do you think the security scanner is all we need. Police and sheriff deputies are there every game and someone pays.

There is probably $2,000 of expenses every time the lights go on and don't forget the JVs that cost is probably $1,000.

I don't remember how old I was, but this was somewhere around 1960, my dad never missed a game on Friday night in Ahoskie. Southern Durham was in town and at about 7.30 (back then kickoff was at 8),the bottom fell out and rained like all get out for three hours.

The coaches huddled up around 8 and Southern Durham was asked whether they wanted to come back Saturday night. Their reply was we come a long way to not play. We soundly trounced them 40-0 in front of six faithful fans.

My dad, me, Louis Young, a coach's wife, her two sons and my dad's best friend Randolph. Being an electrician, my father always carried polyethylene with him and we sat as dry as could be possible some times not able to see the other side of the field.

I think back then it was $1 to get in. We worried more about the victory more than the cost. That was a time when a person was rich if he had $20 in his pocket. Nowadays, $20 will not get you in and out of a movie.

I watched ECU play this afternoon - sometimes in the rain. It was a sellout so 38,000 tickets were sold. If more than 20,000 sat through the game, they had a crowd. I bet the cost of that ticket was $40.

I wonder how many people asked for a refund as they ran for their cars to get out of the rain.

Yes, 40 years ago, we would have played last night, but nowadays, they have to worry where the money is going to come from to put gas in two buses to ship the team off next weekend.

I wish we had of played Friday, but I understand why we didn't.

The price of a high school football game ticket is $6. It's the best bargain around - whether it's on a Monday or Friday.